Best Comic That Made Us Cry

Stab At It, "Pearl in the Snow"

Staff Pick

Stab At It, "Pearl in the Snow"

E.R. Jess' web comic Stab At It, published roughly weekly, is a dependably amusing, slightly nerdy, often surreal four-panel exploration of life's absurdities ... except when it's more than that. On Feb. 8, 2016, Jess posted "Pearl in the Snow," a format-buster that was neither four panels nor amusing. It was, in fact, an exquisite three-page meditation on loss and self-reliance and growth. (Plus a kitten, because of course.) In its simplicity and honesty, every perfectly chosen word pierced to the heart, and no matter how many times we've read it, we still mist up every time. A home-grown example of what comics should and can be.